The Gist
A Police Officer with personal problems suddenly finds himself being blamed for his wife’s death. And if he doesn’t solve the murder himself he finds himself facing execution.
The Review
January is normally the elephant’s graveyard for movies. The award films are already out and it’s not quite blockbuster season so all the films that studios weren’t quite sure what to do with are released.
That normally means some pretty mediocre films that had potential to be hits find their ways into cinemas at that time. But so far this January we have had a few surprises – and now we have another one in the form of Mercy – a thriller so good it seems that even the studio behind it under-valued it.
Directed by Timur Bekmambetov (Night Watch) Mercy is set in a future where murders are solved almost instantaneously because everybody is monitored with cameras and cloud technology 24/7. Even court cases don’t drag on because offenders are charged straightaway and then placed in the M.E.R.C.Y. court when the case is looked at by AI Judges rather than a jury. Under these rules the offender basically has 90 minutes to prove that they are not guilty – if they can’t do that they are executed right there and then on the spot.
Finding himself in front of the M.E.R.C.Y. court is celebrated Detective Chris Raven (Chris Pratt – Guardians Of The Galaxy). He once celebrated this court for getting the job done and he has even been personally responsible for some people being sent there. But since the death of his Police partner Ray Vale (Kenneth Choi – Spider-Man: Homecoming) things haven’t been great in Chris’ life.
Due to the fact he blames himself for Ray’s death he has once again become an alcoholic and has even lashed out at his wife, Nicole (Annabelle Wallis – Annabelle), and daughter, Britt (Kylie Rogers – Beau If Afraid), while in fits of rage.
Now Nicole has been murdered at a time where Chris can be traced at the scene. So he has been arrested and is strapped into a chair in the M.E.R.C.Y. court while his case is looked at by Judge Maddox (Rebecca Ferguson – The Greatest Showman). In order not to be executed Chris must prove that he is innocent, with the help of his new partner Jaq Diallo (Kali Reis – True Detective), while not being able to leave the Executioner’s Chair and having to abide by the rules of the court.
You would think that having one character literally restrained in a chair for most of the film would hamper the plot, action and suspense immensely, but that just isn’t the case for Mercy. With a brilliant screenplay by Marco van Belle (Arthur & Merlin) and some creative filmmaking by Bekmambetov this becomes a thriller that will have you on the edge of your seat.
From tight dialogue between Maddox and Chris that debates what is fair and not fair in the justice system through to some creative ways to bring both crime scene and police procedures to the screen using supposed CCTV and video call footage this is certainly a film where the screenwriter and director’s skills come together to deliver a film completely out of the box. In the past we have seen some horrors and even a romance try to tell their story using only ZOOM or Skype calls but often they become a bit of a bore to watch. That isn’t the case here as the developments in the case move along at a rapid pace while the audience also finds themselves learning more and more about this Minority Report style of world as the film goes on. Of course then there is also the big question – did Chris kill Nicole and if he didn’t who did.
Despite the limitations that the film has with Chris not being to interact with most people properly the film also manages to deliver a fair dose of characterisation. Normally a character that is alcoholic and can be abusive to his wife would be unlikable but somehow in Mercy you find yourself still liking Chris and wanting him to be able to prove his innocence.
Even though you mostly see them through screens you also get a good sense of who the characters of Jaq and Britt are. That not only happens from some good acting performances but also because van Belle’s screenplay describes exactly what we, as the audience, get to see through their devices.
Credit must also be paid here to Chris Pratt who despite be restrained in a chair for most of the film puts in a great performance. He is forced to let the tone of his voice and facial expressions do most of the heavy lifting here and he does it with ease. The scenes he shares with Rebecca Ferguson, who is also shines despite having to play an emotionless AI face on a screen, are electric. Those scenes are part of the reason why this film becomes a must see.
The Verdict
I certainly never expected Mercy to be as good as it is. We often complain that filmmakers aren’t willing to do anything new or fresh in cinemas these days – yet here we see Bekmambetov doing an amazing job and delivering an edge-of-your-seat thriller with a real difference.
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